Turtles#Cultral#depictions

In Hindu mythology the world is thought to rest on the backs of four elephants who stand on the shell of a turtle.In Hinduism, Akupara is a tortoise who carries the world on his back, upholding the Earth and the sea. One Avatar of Vishnu is the giant turtle Kurma. The Sri Kurmam Temple in Andhra Pradesh, India, is dedicated to the Kurma avatar. Kurmavatara is also Kasyapa, the northern star, the first living being, forefather of Vamana Avatar the protector. The plastron symbolizes the earthly world and the carapace the heavenly world. The Shatapatha Brahmana identifies the world as the body of Kurmaraja, the "king of tortoises", with the earth its plastron, the atmosphere its body, and the vault of the heavens its carapace. The tortoise holds the elephant, on which rests the earth. The elephant is the masculine symbol and the tortoise the feminine. #MyCountry